Moon Jellies

Sea jellies are an almost alien-looking species that challenge your preconceived ideas about how marine animals should behave as they rhythmically float past.

Moon Jellies

Sea jellies are an almost alien-looking species that challenge your preconceived ideas about how marine animals should behave as they rhythmically float past.

Their jelly-like appearance, lack of a backbone and almost completely see-through bodies make them unlike any other animal on earth.

Their bell-shaped bodies and tentacles are propelled through the water by a strange pumping action, with their muscles contracting to push them in the only two ways they can go – up and down. Sea jellies drift at the mercy of the currents, often accumulating in large groups (smacks) in sheltered bays and estuaries.

These marine UFOs are also able to produce some of the most amazing illusions in the animal world. For example, the Comb jelly creates a strobe-light effect as the sun hits it, making a rainbow of iridescent colours appear along the edge of its body.

Did you know?

Sea jellies are made up of more than 90 per cent water? They are also survivors, and have been around since before dinosaurs!